1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cover unit and a recording apparatus having the cover unit.
2. Description of Related Art
Electric and electronic apparatuses including home electronic products recently come to have similar specifications in respective sales price bands among competitive entities, and industrial designs tend to provide distinguishable property. As elements for distinguishable property, shape of appearance, color, and qualitative feeling found in material are exemplified.
Products having metallic taste industrial designs are increasing their number recently among goods particularly having portability such as cameras and cellar phone devices as well as electric, electronic apparatuses in the field of personal computers. To obtain those metallic taste industrial designs, some parts can be found using, as a material, metal itself, resin with a metallic taste coating, so called metallic resin containing a metal powder, and the like.
In the meantime, recycling and reuse trends in resins of petroleum chemical products, other than metal materials that have been recycled, are rising these days concurrently with raising of environment protection minds. In consideration of only the territory of Japan, enacted are laws relating to processing and cleaning of wastes (Showa 45 law No. 137, generally referred to as “waste processing law”), laws relating to promotion of use of recycled resources (Heisei 3 law No. 48, generally referred to as “recycle law”), laws relating to separate collection about container packages and promotion of re-commercialization, etc. (Heisei 7 law No. 112, generally referred to as “package recycle law”), specific home use apparatus re-commercialization laws (Heisei 10 law No. 97, generally referred to as “home electronics recycle law”), etc., and according to establishments of those legal restrictions, recycling of thermoplastic resin is accelerated among some goods for large size home electronics goods and automobiles.
Reduction of integral formation among parts made of materials having property not mutually soluble to each other and reduction of the material number itself are targeted in environmental regulations or the like in respective countries, and coating on a resin and printing area size are also exemplified as targets of regulations.
Though there is Germany “Blue Angel” as a representative environmental regulation, “Eco Mark” certifications are given in Japan in respective categories from Japanese Environment Association. “Eco Marks” are set, regarding office apparatus products, for personal computers and photocopiers on November, 1999, and for printers on October, 2001. There are descriptions “checking on suitability with respect to materials” or “satisfying VDI2243,” and those are matters requiring compatibility among materials.
The compatibility refers to a mutually compatible state in a case that, e.g., polymers of two or more kinds are mixed. Simple mixture is no more than dispersion of materials and distinguishable from the solubility because of lack of solution.
For example, in a case that a cover as a housing member (appearance member) forming the apparatus housing is considered to be added with, e.g., color and quantitative feeling found in material for a distinguishing purpose, the environment standards and the environment regulations are to be considered though some choices can be thought.
Where the cover is structured of a metal only, the cover tends to become a member with low designing freeness since the shape formed through a metal processing is subject to considerable restrictions, and the cover may be prone to a lowered functioning state. A method of post processing may be used to prevent the functions from becoming inferior, but the costs may be increased, and consequently, users may be disadvantaged with high cost goods.
On the other hand, in a case that the cover is structured of a resin only, the resin is conventionally painted to correspond the needs to obtain a distinguishable industrial design. With such a conventional painting, e.g., metallic quantitative feeling, particularly, coolness of metal when touched, is not expressed with painting, so that the cover may be finished with a mediocre industrial design.